Bookmark Your Favorite Internet Sites 1. Open an Internet Explorer browser window and navi- gate to the site you want to save. 2. Click the Add Favorites icon (the star with a plus sign on it) in the upper-left corner of the browser window and choose Add to Favorites from the drop-down menu, as shown in Figure 16-11. 3. In the Name field, type the bookmark name the way you want it to be listed, use the Create In drop-down menu to select a spot to save the bookmark, and click Add, as shown in Figure 16-12. 4. Click the star icon in the upper-left corner of the browser window to open the Favorites sidebar. You see your bookmark saved there. 5. Click the bookmark to return to that site at any time. You can drag and drop your bookmarks inside the Favorites toolbar to reorder them into whatever order you want. You can create folders to group similar bookmarks. Click the Add Favorites icon and select Organize Favorites to create folders and drag and drop the bookmarks into appropriate locations. Figure 16-11: Adding a Favorite Figure 16-12: Favorite details ➟ 143 Bookmark Your Favorite Internet Sites 23_285831-ch16.qxp 8/22/08 8:46 PM Page 143 View More Information with RSS Feeds 1. Many sites use a Really Simple Syndication (RSS) feed to provide information in text form, as opposed to a full Web site. If this type of feed is available, the icon shown in Figure 16-13 is displayed in orange. 2. Click the icon to switch to RSS Feed view. 3. To subscribe to this feed, click the Add to Favorites but- ton and select Subscribe To This Feed. 4. To view your subscriptions, click the Add Favorites icon and select the Feeds icon at the top of the Favorites side- bar, as shown in Figure 16-14. Subscribing to a feed allows you to have updated content delivered automatically to your browser window, as opposed to having to reload a Web page multiple times. 5. Click the specific feed link to open that feed in your browser window or tab. RSS feeds have multiple other uses, depending on the browser or Web sites you use and open, including downloading files and archiv- ing feed entries. 6. Click the View Feed Properties button to change the name of the feed and specify how often the feed is updated. Figure 16-13: The RSS icon Figure 16-14: RSS feed subscriptions ➟ 144 Chapter 16: Getting on the Internet 23_285831-ch16.qxp 8/22/08 8:46 PM Page 144 Block Pop-Up Windows with Your Browser 1. In Internet Explorer, choose Tools➪Pop-Up Blocker to see the current settings. 2. If the pop-up blocker is turned off, select Turn Pop-Up Blocker On. The Internet Explorer pop-up blocker should be enabled by default. 3. To alter the pop-up blocker settings, choose Pop-Up Blocker from the menu, as shown in Figure 16-15. 4. To allow pop-up windows from a site to open, type the Web site name in the Pop-Up Blocker Settings dialog box (see Figure 16-16) and click Add. 5. To remove a site, select it from the Allowed Sites list and click Remove. Allow pop-ups only from sites you absolutely trust. Pop-up windows not only are annoying but can also be used to add spyware to your computer. 6. You can alter the level of filtering of pop-up blocking from the Filter Level drop-down menu, near the bottom of the window (see Figure 16-16). Figure 16-15: Accessing pop-up blocker settings from a menu Figure 16-16: Allowing pop-ups from Web sites ➟ 145 Block Pop-Up Windows with Your Browser 23_285831-ch16.qxp 8/22/08 8:46 PM Page 145 Erase Information from Your Browser 1. In Internet Explorer, choose Tools➪Delete Browsing History to open the Delete Browsing History dialog box, shown in Figure 16-17. 2. Each Web page stores a cache of files and information on the computer to speed up the browsing process. To delete these files and clear space on your computer, click the Delete Files button. 3. Click the Delete Cookies button to remove cookies from your system. (A cookie is a file that stores information used by Web sites to track your browsing, personal pref- erences, and other information.) Not all cookies are bad, so be careful when you’re ridding your lap- top of these files. You may notice differences in how your browser displays Web sites after you take this step. 4. Click Delete History to remove the list of visited Web sites from your browser. 5. Click Delete Forms to remove any trace of data related to filling out online forms. 6. On some Web sites, you can choose to save passwords for quicker access. Click Delete Passwords to remove that information. To clear all personal information and save a few steps, click the Delete All button at the bottom of the window. Figure 16-17: Erasing information from your browser ➟ 146 Chapter 16: Getting on the Internet 23_285831-ch16.qxp 8/22/08 8:46 PM Page 146 Keep Your Browser Secure 1. Sites used for online banking or payments or other sen- sitive transaction information are often encrypted. Look for these two items to ensure that your transaction is secure, as shown in Figure 16-18: • The Web address begins with https:// as opposed to the more standard http://. • A lock icon appears on the right end of the Address bar. If these items aren’t present, don’t use the site to transmit sensitive data. Pick up the phone or drive to your local branch instead. 2. To ensure that you’re not being redirected to another site by a malicious link (a process known as phishing), Internet Explorer includes a phishing filter. Check its status by choosing Tools➪Phishing Filter. 3. If the filter is turned off, select Turn On Automatic Website Checking and click the Turn On Automatic Phishing Filter radio button, as shown in Figure 16-19. 4. Check a specific Web site by choosing Tools➪Phishing Filter➪Check This Website. The filter ensures that the site matches its address and returns its results to you. 5. To report a possible phishing site, choose Tools➪ Phishing Filter➪Report This Site. Although this action alerts security experts to the existence of the site, your best bet is still to avoid giving information to the site and to leave the site immediately. Use your common sense. If a site looks wrong or something seems amiss, just leave it alone entirely. Figure 16-18: Signs of a properly encrypted Web site Figure 16-19: Turning on the automatic phishing filter ➟ 147 Keep Your Browser Secure 23_285831-ch16.qxp 8/22/08 8:46 PM Page 147 ➟ 148 Chapter 16: Getting on the Internet 23_285831-ch16.qxp 8/22/08 8:46 PM Page 148 Part IV Hitting the Road 24_285831-pp04.qxp 8/22/08 8:46 PM Page 149 Chapter 18: Playing It Safe . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .165 Change Your Windows Firewall Settings 166 Require a Password to Use a Shared Folder 167 Encrypt a File or Folder 168 Set Up a Secure Password 169 Change Your Password 170 Lock Down Your Laptop 171 Chapter 17: Staying In Touch . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .151 Use a Virtual Briefcase 152 Use an Automatic, One-Touch Hard Drive 153 Make a Bluetooth Connection with an External Device 154 Transfer Files to a PDA or Cell Phone by Using Bluetooth 155 Sync Your Data to a PDA or Cell Phone 156 Use a Flash or Hard Drive to Manually Back Up Important Documents 157 Back Up Your Information on a Server 158 Use the Back Up Files Wizard 159 Use the Complete Backup Wizard 160 Restore Your Complete Hard Drive 161 Restore Individual Files from Backup 161 Use Windows Shadow Copy 163 24_285831-pp04.qxp 8/22/08 8:46 PM Page 150 Staying In Touch C hances are that even if you have a powerful laptop, it’s probably not your only computer. A laptop is the perfect complement to a desktop, allowing you to work on your projects away from the office and then move your fin- ished files back to your main computer. If your laptop is your only computer, however, you must keep your files backed up on a separate drive to ensure that nothing happens to them. Going mobile is great, but it also makes you more susceptible to the loss of data, from accidental damage to theft. This chapter shows you your options for backing up and syncing your data with other devices, from external hard drives to network servers to PDAs and smart phones. You can not only access your data from several different places, but also ensure that you don’t lose your information even if you do somehow lose your laptop. 17 Get ready to . . . ➟ Use a Virtual Briefcase 152 ➟ Use an Automatic, One-Touch Hard Drive 153 ➟ Make a Bluetooth Connection with an External Device 154 ➟ Transfer Files to a PDA or Cell Phone by Using Bluetooth 155 ➟ Sync Your Data to a PDA or Cell Phone 156 ➟ Use a Flash or Hard Drive to Manually Back Up Important Documents 157 ➟ Back Up Your Information on a Server 158 ➟ Use the Back Up Files Wizard 159 ➟ Use the Complete Backup Wizard 160 ➟ Restore Your Complete Hard Drive 161 ➟ Restore Individual Files from Backup 161 ➟ Use Windows Shadow Copy 163 ➟ Chapter 25_285831-ch17.qxp 8/22/08 8:47 PM Page 151 Use a Virtual Briefcase 1. Right-click in a location of your choice (most likely, Documents or your desktop) and choose New ➪Briefcase. 2. Drag and drop into the Briefcase the files you want to move, as shown in Figure 17-1. Using the Briefcase is a good way to keep files in sync over multi- ple computers, such as your office desktop and your laptop. You can also use it ensure that you always have backups of your important files in case of emergency. 3. Move the Briefcase to another computer or external hard drive. 4. After you make the changes you want, move the Briefcase back to your original computer and click Update This Item in the menu bar. 5. Your computer checks for differences between the original files and the Briefcase files and then presents the differences, as shown in Figure 17-2. 6. Right-click each item to determine whether to keep the original or the new copy, or if you choose to skip the sync entirely. You can also see the details of the differ- ences between the two files to determine which action you want to take. The files in the Briefcase are just copies, which are linked to your originals. Don’t be surprised when the files don’t disappear from their original locations. The Briefcase shows the original location of your file and its updated status in File view, in case you have any concerns about what you’re working with. Figure 17-1: Your files in the Briefcase Figure 17-2: Syncing your Briefcase ➟ 152 Chapter 17: Staying In Touch 25_285831-ch17.qxp 8/22/08 8:47 PM Page 152 [...]... hard drive for this process, it must be formatted in NTFS format Figure 17- 16: The Backup and Restore Center 3 Click the Start Backup button in the Windows Complete PC Backup dialog box, shown in Figure 17- 17 4 Let the backup continue — it can take a long time 5 If you’re using DVDs, swap out the DVDs as required by the process Make sure that you have a lot of DVDs or a large hard drive to perform this... 17- 11 This step makes a copy on the external drive 6 Click on the Safely Remove Hardware icon in the lower- right corner of your desktop and select the flash or hard drive Close all windows involving your flash or external hard drive before clicking the Safely Remove Hardware icon Otherwise, you may not be able to eject the device Figure 17- 11: Dragging and dropping a file 7 Physically disconnect the. .. Bluetooth File Transfer Wizard 3 As shown in Figure 17- 7, specify whether you want to send a file to your device or receive a file on your laptop, and then click Next Figure 17- 7: Specifying whether to send or receive files 4 To select your device, click the Browse button (see Figure 17- 8); browse for the file you want to transfer and click OK Click Next 5 Let the file transfer and click Finish when you’re... settings Click Next 7 Enter a name for the shortcut and click Next 8 Click Finish to set up the shortcut 9 Click Start➪Computer and select the shortcut Type the password if necessary and click OK 10 Drag and drop the files as you would do on any other drive Close the window when you’re done Check with your company’s network administrator or your service provider for any server information you need in... and other devices Figure 17- 5: Making your device discoverable 3 Click Add to see the Add Bluetooth Device Wizard dia- log box, shown in Figure 17- 5 4 Select the check box and then click Next to discover the device 5 Select the device you want to connect and select Next 6 If necessary, enter a passkey for your device If you have the option of using a passkey, use it A passkey makes it harder for unauthorized... of control over which information you back up with this method, and how often you do it, but be sure to perform these steps regularly Otherwise, you may miss some of your data after disaster strikes ➟ 1 57 25_285831-ch 17. qxp 8/22/08 8:48 PM Page 158 Chapter 17: Staying In Touch Back Up Your Information on a Server 1 Click Start and select Computer 2 Right-click any open space in the Computer window and... Network Location from the context menu 3 Click Next in the initial window 4 Select the Choose a Custom Network Location option, as shown in Figure 17- 12, and click Next 5 Enter the address of your network location (see Figure 17- 13) or click the Browse button to view and select available destinations and click Next 6 Type the username for your network or leave it set to Figure 17- 12: Choosing a network... 25_285831-ch 17. qxp 8/22/08 8:48 PM Page 162 Chapter 17: Staying In Touch 3 Select the files and folders you want to restore, as shown in Figure 17- 19 You can select any file or folder in your backup Click Next 4 Select the location where you want to copy the files You can choose the file’s original location or a new spot 5 Click Start Restore to move the files back 6 If you’re moving the file back to their... because the information (including your password) is transferred without encryption, making it easier to steal ➟ 158 Commercial and free FTP software give you more options for transferring files, and they do it in a more secure manner than in this process Check out the software to see whether it meets your needs Figure 17- 13: Entering your network address 25_285831-ch 17. qxp 8/22/08 8:48 PM Page 159 Use the. .. Backup 6 Let the backup run until completed Figure 17- 14: Selecting a backup location 7 Make sure that the external device you’re using is con- nected and that your computer is turned on at the scheduled backup time The Back Up Files Wizard works only when the computer is turned on and connected, so be sure to stick to your schedule Be sure that your device has enough space for your backups before you . accident. Perform the backup regularly for best results. Figure 17- 16: The Backup and Restore Center Figure 17- 17: Starting your computer backup ➟ 160 Chapter 17: Staying In Touch 25_285831-ch 17. qxp. checks for differences between the original files and the Briefcase files and then presents the differences, as shown in Figure 17- 2. 6. Right-click each item to determine whether to keep the original. or the new copy, or if you choose to skip the sync entirely. You can also see the details of the differ- ences between the two files to determine which action you want to take. The files in the